Ottoman Tufek - Further Restoration

rickystl · 30th June 2019, 05:50 PM

Hello All

Herre is a Link on the Forum where I originally posted this gun - 4 years ago ! LOL If you view the earlies photos you will see disastrous condition this gun was in when I first acquired it (for next to nothing)

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20353

At that time I had restoration work done including: New smooth bore steel barrel liner installed, lock cleaned, re-worked and tuned, brass overlay around the barrel tang replaced. So far, so good.

But the stock had a large crack in the wrist area. Also, this is one of those Ottoman long guns that show up with a very short length butt stock that you occassionally see. And this one had a brass butt plate on the end. But I was convinced that this stock originally had a longer section of butt stock as most others.

So, I acquired a a large piece of European walnut and sent this and the stock to fellow Forum member Philip Tom for repair and restoration. There is a sliver of wood missing from the right side of the forearm. But nothing we can do about that. The barrel is not original to the stock and was likely a Balkan period replacement. A couple of period repairs remain. The butt stock addition was correctly shaped and refinished with an antique look to match. You can't even tell where the large wrist crack was. LOL

The gun now looks 1,000% better. And is now - finally - finished and ready for test firing. Maybe Philip can chime in on this Thread with some comments. I'm sure this was a challenging project for the stock. Needless to say, I'm super happy with the outcome. (Thank You Philip!!)

Meantime, here are a bunch of pics of the finished shooter:

Rick

rickystl · 30th June 2019, 05:52 PM

MORE PICS.............

Philip · 30th June 2019, 06:34 PM

Hey, Rick it looks so much better in a complete state! Can you tell us what sort of "tuning" that you did, presumably to make the lock work better? Got any pics of the interior mechanism? From the outside it looks like a better fit and finish than on most Balkan and many Otto locks. 'Wondering if it could be a Brescian made-for-export to the region, what Gen. Agostino Gaibi calls a piastra alla morlacca in his monumental book Armi da Fuoco Italiane.

rickystl · 30th June 2019, 10:12 PM

Hi Philip

Thanks for the comments. Here are some pics of the lock. It's actually one of the most common Balkan styles made at one of the many gun making centers in the Region. You see them on used on many guns, especially Albanian guns. Made in both long gun and pistol size.
The lock worked good when I received it on the gun. Besides cleaning (and I think it could use a bit more) the heel of the hammer and frizzen were polished out a bit and the post for the trigger bar was re-drill very slightly and re-pinned for smoother trigger pull. But that's all. Even though locally made, and not quite up to European snuff, it functions very reliable. Probably why it was used on so many Balkan made guns.

Also, forgot to post pics of the bottom view shoeing all the sculptured brass decoration.

Rick

Philip · 1st July 2019, 12:01 AM

Something interesting and worth noting here, Rick.

Take a look at the horizontal bridle that bridges the cock pivot screw (which has its own small vertical bridle) with the priming pan assembly. In and of itself this is a characteristic of virtually all Oriental versions of the Spanish patilla lock and such a bridge is not normally found on the European originals save in the case of a few surviving early Spanish (?) and Italian locks of this type.

On most Balkan locks, the bridge takes the form of a flat bar of metal, slightly shaped for its application. On yours -- notice that the rear portion is of round cross section and up front under the pan, the flat face is cut with oblique filework suggesting a spiral motif.

I'm quite sure you have a copy of W. Keith Neal's Spanish Guns and Pistols,and if so, check out the photoplates, 66 and 67 in particular. There are two locks, one which he IDs as Spanish ca 1640 which has this feature in fully developed form and the other, which he calls "Kurdish-made...ca 1700" rather resembles yours, with filework of similar workmanship.

Mr Neal's supposition that these represent the foundation of the style of miquelet that was to become near-universal in the Otto Empire, the Levant, and Iran rests on solid ground. Unfortunately in his book he doesn't go into any detail as to the dates he assigns, and it may be that he was using the designation "Kurdish" a bit loosely -- remember that the book was written in the 1950s when the study and appreciation of ethnographic arms in general was not to the level that we enjoy today. If you would substitute, say, "middle Eastern", it will still fit in with the view that we still hold today.

Neal's assessment of Spanish origin for No. 66 is quite convincing when you look at the radiating filework on the substantial cock bridle, taking on a scalloped or sunburst appearance. This is a hallmark of Ripoll miquelet locks of the 17th and 18th cent. and it is likely that a considerable export trade in these and in Brescian imitations thereof to the eastern Mediterranean helped establish the design and decorative traditions followed by lock makers in the Ottoman Empire into the 19th cent.

30th June 2019, 05:50 PM	#1
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	Ottoman Tufek - Further Restoration Hello All Herre is a Link on the Forum where I originally posted this gun - 4 years ago ! LOL If you view the earlies photos you will see disastrous condition this gun was in when I first acquired it (for next to nothing) http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20353 At that time I had restoration work done including: New smooth bore steel barrel liner installed, lock cleaned, re-worked and tuned, brass overlay around the barrel tang replaced. So far, so good. But the stock had a large crack in the wrist area. Also, this is one of those Ottoman long guns that show up with a very short length butt stock that you occassionally see. And this one had a brass butt plate on the end. But I was convinced that this stock originally had a longer section of butt stock as most others. So, I acquired a a large piece of European walnut and sent this and the stock to fellow Forum member Philip Tom for repair and restoration. There is a sliver of wood missing from the right side of the forearm. But nothing we can do about that. The barrel is not original to the stock and was likely a Balkan period replacement. A couple of period repairs remain. The butt stock addition was correctly shaped and refinished with an antique look to match. You can't even tell where the large wrist crack was. LOL The gun now looks 1,000% better. And is now - finally - finished and ready for test firing. Maybe Philip can chime in on this Thread with some comments. I'm sure this was a challenging project for the stock. Needless to say, I'm super happy with the outcome. (Thank You Philip!!) Meantime, here are a bunch of pics of the finished shooter: Rick Attached Images

30th June 2019, 05:52 PM	#2
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	MORE PICS............. Attached Images

30th June 2019, 06:34 PM	#3
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	lock refurbishing Hey, Rick it looks so much better in a complete state! Can you tell us what sort of "tuning" that you did, presumably to make the lock work better? Got any pics of the interior mechanism? From the outside it looks like a better fit and finish than on most Balkan and many Otto locks. 'Wondering if it could be a Brescian made-for-export to the region, what Gen. Agostino Gaibi calls a piastra alla morlacca in his monumental book Armi da Fuoco Italiane.

30th June 2019, 10:12 PM	#4
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	Hi Philip Thanks for the comments. Here are some pics of the lock. It's actually one of the most common Balkan styles made at one of the many gun making centers in the Region. You see them on used on many guns, especially Albanian guns. Made in both long gun and pistol size. The lock worked good when I received it on the gun. Besides cleaning (and I think it could use a bit more) the heel of the hammer and frizzen were polished out a bit and the post for the trigger bar was re-drill very slightly and re-pinned for smoother trigger pull. But that's all. Even though locally made, and not quite up to European snuff, it functions very reliable. Probably why it was used on so many Balkan made guns. Also, forgot to post pics of the bottom view shoeing all the sculptured brass decoration. Rick Attached Images

1st July 2019, 12:01 AM	#5
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	characteristics of lock design Something interesting and worth noting here, Rick. Take a look at the horizontal bridle that bridges the cock pivot screw (which has its own small vertical bridle) with the priming pan assembly. In and of itself this is a characteristic of virtually all Oriental versions of the Spanish patilla lock and such a bridge is not normally found on the European originals save in the case of a few surviving early Spanish (?) and Italian locks of this type. On most Balkan locks, the bridge takes the form of a flat bar of metal, slightly shaped for its application. On yours -- notice that the rear portion is of round cross section and up front under the pan, the flat face is cut with oblique filework suggesting a spiral motif. I'm quite sure you have a copy of W. Keith Neal's Spanish Guns and Pistols,and if so, check out the photoplates, 66 and 67 in particular. There are two locks, one which he IDs as Spanish ca 1640 which has this feature in fully developed form and the other, which he calls "Kurdish-made...ca 1700" rather resembles yours, with filework of similar workmanship. Mr Neal's supposition that these represent the foundation of the style of miquelet that was to become near-universal in the Otto Empire, the Levant, and Iran rests on solid ground. Unfortunately in his book he doesn't go into any detail as to the dates he assigns, and it may be that he was using the designation "Kurdish" a bit loosely -- remember that the book was written in the 1950s when the study and appreciation of ethnographic arms in general was not to the level that we enjoy today. If you would substitute, say, "middle Eastern", it will still fit in with the view that we still hold today. Neal's assessment of Spanish origin for No. 66 is quite convincing when you look at the radiating filework on the substantial cock bridle, taking on a scalloped or sunburst appearance. This is a hallmark of Ripoll miquelet locks of the 17th and 18th cent. and it is likely that a considerable export trade in these and in Brescian imitations thereof to the eastern Mediterranean helped establish the design and decorative traditions followed by lock makers in the Ottoman Empire into the 19th cent.